The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada spoke about MPs trying to leave the country for theater performances and sports events

Ukrainian lawmakers are not granted permission for overseas trips unless those trips bring specific, tangible benefits to the country.

This was stated by Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, in an interview with RBK-Ukraine.

“If you’re writing to me with a request like: ‘Please send me to the United States to participate in the play Mothers on Skype, or to attend some sports competition just to observe it — excuse me, but that is definitely not parliamentary activity,” he said.

Earlier, Stefanchuk commented that public opinion about Ukrainian MPs is often inaccurate. “In Ukraine, for the past 33 years, there has been a constant narrative that MPs are bad or scoundrels — but that’s not true,” he said.

Previously, Stefanchuk also rejected the idea of signing any documents with Russia as long as President Volodymyr Zelensky remains in office, stating that no agreements should be considered until Zelensky transfers his post to someone else.